You Know You Have to Quit the Internet When
by bloodytwistedangel
Summary: [You've Never Met Your Boyfriend] AU: Things weren’t meant to turn out like this… It was just…irresistible. That pale skin, golden locks…the latest release of Suikoden in his hands… KuroFai.
1. You Live In Your Mother's Basement

**You Live in Your Mother's Basement**

Disclaimer: Only CLAMP would think of mixing Vampires and Pirates together. (.)

Claimer: I own Riotz. He's an OC that has lived in the depths of my mind for a good four years. I figured Kuro-Chu didn't have enough ninja-skillz to be a true ota so I stuck him in. Yes, I do regret introducing an OC, please don't stick it to me/him so hard. (Xx)

Intro: -Ashlee Simpson, 'La La'- Yes, I'm not dead. I just haven't posted on here in a while. If you read my LJ, then you've probably already read this. If not, have fun with it. I'm sorry if I fill your inbox with alerts and all those what-have-yous. I'm going to try harder and post every month again. Life has been so hectic for me! Thank you loyal readers and reviewers because when you give me reviews, I feel like I'm on cloud nine.

Epic Rating: R - _Themes_, Heavy Language, Slash, Kuro-Violent Thoughts, References to lemons

Pairing: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE - Kurogane/Fai

A/N: AU .hack//WORLD game majorly involved 

* * *

**LOG-IN REQUESTED. PASSWORD ACCEPTED.**

_'Come on, Kurogane! There's no way you can't love The World! It's awesome! Just one time, okay?' Ryûô pleaded. He begged and pulled and cried and whined but to no avail. Kurogane just swung his nose in the air in an uninterested way._

'That's so uncool,' Kurogane said. 'What are you? Some twelve-year-old? We're thirteen! There's no way you'd be childish enough to actually go down the path of some loser who stays in their mom's basement and plays video-games all day!'

'They're not just video-games!' his friend protested with crossed arms. 'It's a whole new world on the internet! You can be anyone you want! Just try it once, okay?'

'No,' the younger boy stubbornly snorted. The red-haired boy gave up, massaging his forehead angrily.

Eventually Ryûô left, looking at Kurogane one last time. Hands were placed on hips in an aggravated way. 'You know, in The World, your family wouldn't be so screwed up.'

**O**

Kurogane sighed. Those were his roots – his childhood's end and the beginning of maturity to what he was today. It had been twelve years since that experience. For the man, dreams about such a thing were quite unusual.

With a groan, Kurogane slunk out of bed completely against his will. He stepped onto his tired feet. He stretched first as he did every morning – first to the right, then to the left, then his whole back and then reached for the ground as much as possible. For his age he was in a damn good figure – twenty-five, handsome, muscular…one might say he was perfect! Girls swooned over him and even the queer men in the various clubs couldn't restrain their adoration. Not only that – he was smart and held a well-paying security job. Kurogane had things made for him – easy, relaxed, and a whole swarm of fish just dying to go to the grave with him.

And then he opened his eyes.

It was his room – bare with nothing on the walls or shelves. He sighed. Everything was gone… The books on his shelf were missing and the desk was bare of the mundane objects. No one would have expected such a popular senior in one of the most prestigious universities resided in the very room. That very fact scared him – a lot. In fact, that fact scared him more than anything else in the world.

He began screaming like a little girl at the shock of his missing possessions. He ran down the stairs past a hallways lined with photographs of family members – three girls, a boy, a taller man, an even taller woman, two elderly women, and a dog. The hall way lined with a red carpet and the walls were off-white – same as always.

The stairs were made of a familiar wood. The humongous house he lived in was indeed expensive but not exactly his. It was-

"Mom! Where the fuck is my computer?"

A somber woman in her sixties was cutting raw carrots drenched in water on a counter. The light was bright and penetrating behind her, causing her and the white kitchen to blend in more than usual. "Oh! Sweetie! You're up already! How wonderful! You know, with all of your sisters gone there really isn't anyone around to keep me company anymore! I'm making you some cream of carrots right now! If you hang on a moment I-"

"My fucking computer!" Kurogane roared. "Where the fuck is it?" he demanded in a screeching voice. The tone ringed throughout the house, echoing in long hallways, empty rooms and well-decorated spaces. The walls vibrated and glass shook about – the windows, cups, china, showcases.

The woman frowned. "I will not tolerate such foul language, young man. Clean your mouth up or-"

"**My-Computer-Now**…" Kurogane sneered between gritted teeth and a cold sweat trailing down his nape. Emerald eyes fell upon the man again. An eyebrow poked up. "**Please**."

The woman nodded. "Your stuff is in the basement." Kurogane rushed to get his stuff but a hand caught his shirt before he could do so. "No," the woman said, "You have an addiction, Kurogane. Don't act like I haven't noticed you skipping your classes or work just to play with that damn thing-a-ma-jig! You have a good head on your shoulders! What the heck are you doing play with such childish stuff? I thought you hated video-games? When you were a child, you thought they were stupid! I mean, when you hit sixteen and began playing the darn things, I thought it was just a phase. When twenty came around, I began thinking it was a form of regression but now…now you're twenty-five! What are you doing still playing the thing?"

Kurogane sighed irritated. "The administrators are holding this huge competition in Talabithithiz Square in three days. I need to level up to 90 before I can change my class from a warrior to a ninja! I've been playing The World three days straight because they made me start from scratch when I got the new server! It's fuckin' annoying but I got to level 78 so far! I need special ninjustu skills to defeat the grand-master-behemoth because exactly seven years ago on the old server we fought a Red Dragon for the newbies when Hikari Server 3.4 came out! So by deductive reasoning, the past experiences, and a crap-load of expert-programming observation and editing, a behemoth is exactly going to be the grand-master monster at the end of the swarms of beholder and medusas so I need ninjustu skills, a crap-load of shuriken, and someone who can use some high-level magic! You know how hard that is to accomplish in one week? All the best magic-users are taken and a battle-wizard NPC is totally out of the question! I have to find a PC that-"

"I didn't get a damn word of that, but you're not playing," the woman stated. She returned to her carrots. "You have an addiction to that thing. The basement is locked up and you're not touching the darn thing before you straighten yourself up and get everything back together again."

Kurogane groaned. "**MOM**!"

"Your cream of carrots is done," the woman said, shoving a bowl in front of him. Kurogane glared, seeing as how the woman wouldn't yield.

He would just have to be a bad boy tonight…

**O**

Mother was always asleep by midnight – it was just a rule. Even after his father left, his mother fell asleep by midnight. She would sit by on the couch and look into the empty fireplace for a few hours and then trudge up the stairs for bed at ten. Now was the perfect time. Sure, he had never picked an actual lock in his life, but he had done it millions of times before. While in high-school, most seniors pulled pranks by picking locks and setting cheesy hoaxes. Kurogane on the other hand, was way beyond that. He had already disarmed the highest-level chest in Might and Magic X and thus had no need to disarm his high-school's. Instead, he hacked the system and failed most of the kids in his grade with exceptions to his friends, himself, and a few select others. Gah…most of them ended flipping burgers in MacDonald's… He would have felt bad but they couldn't even recite Link's seventy-six different cries from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time alone! Since they obviously couldn't do that, they deserved no right to work at anywhere else but MacDonald's.

Kurogane found out that night that real locks were harder to pick than disabling treasure-chests. Still, such locks were no match for him. He crept inside the basement and flicked on the light-switch. He sighed in the most love-struck way upon the sight – three whole walls filled with video games ranging from the Genesis to the PS3. His up-to-date, brand-new, flat-screen personal laptop lay upon a desk just waiting to be played. He couldn't keep his entire collection of games just stored on one so of course he had extra laptops to hold his other PC games! They ranged from love-games, to action, to cheesy-humor games… He had games in every language and absolutely **ANYTHING** that involved magic and-or ninjas.

He strolled over to his laptop and made a cross between a, 'squish,' and a, 'guu,' sound as he turned the power switch on. Kurogane was a gamer. He always had the new games and every new event that came online he attended. The new version of The World – The World server Delta, Version 6.5 – was just released and could only be won by those who won a special sweepstakes. The contest was bought and multiple entries could be sent. Kurogane figured he must've spent at least two-thousand-US-dollars on the sweepstakes alone not mentioning all the upgrades he paid for upon installation of the new server.

He connected to the internet. As he grabbed his headset, he wondered if he was a hard-core gamer. People always told him that but he never considered himself to be. He was like anyone else…right? He figured that everyone had an abnormally large collection of games ranging from retro-to-neo and handheld-to-platform. He shoved that thought to the back of his head and entered The World.

**O**

"Long time no see!" a tall man with slender limbs and tanned skin yelled. He called out through an open field with crisp air and blue skies. Kurogane grinned. This was why video-games were so fun – a completely different reality – anything you wanted – all bundled into reality. There could be sci-fi, murder-mystery, action, blood, love… He gagged.

"Yeah. My mom moved all my stuff into the basement," Kurogane explained.

The other male's golden eyes widened as his blond locks swayed in the gentle breeze. "You're serious man? Dude! You're hopeless now! You have the biggest collection of games and it's official that you live in your mother's basement now! Total burn! How are you going to ever get a girl?"

"Shut up," Kurogane snapped, running now alongside his companion. They were now in a dessert terrain searching far and wide for a magic-user worthy of his skills. "You're a bastard, you know that Riotz?"

The man smirked. "Am and always will be. Anyhow, I'm just joking. You still looking for a high-leveled professional to enter that competition with?"

"Hell yeah." Crimson eyes widened with excitement as he sat on a large boulder to rest. He glanced about in hopes of just finding the person he was in pursuit of.

"Why don't you just leave a message on a chat room or something?" Riotz suggested.

Kurogane's scarlet eyes glared at the tanned male. "Fuck no," he barked. "I'm not some loser who stays reading manga and fawning over inanimate people all day long in their mother's basement!" he roared.

A golden eyebrow poked up with a broken smile. "…_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight_." Kurogane snorted. "Anyhow, if that's the case, I know a friend who's really tight with a high-level Vampire. I'm sure she could introduce you. It's even better, I hear he's a delta user, too. There are only one-hundred-fifty people who won the delta-sweepstakes and you two are freakin' lucky! I'm sure that'd be a good ice-breaker…and then you could explain your secret to raising the fastest horses in Harvest Moon…" A deathly glare fell upon Riotz. The ganguro coughed in amusement.

"What's his username?" Kurogane asked, somewhat interested.

Riotz shrugged. "I dunno. He doesn't log on very often unless there's something he wants. He's all over the major sites, though. I mean, **all-over**. He has hook-ups with all the admins. Anything you can think of, he can get. Don't know if he's a hacker or not but if it's online - you name it - he knows, has seen it, heard it and-or has it. All the inside scoop about updates, cheats, programming, up-coming systems and releases… **EVERYTHING**."

"But he doesn't log into The World often? The World's, like, the biggest thing, though," Kurogane mused. Riotz nodded and shrugged again. "Whatever I can do to win this damn competition."

Blond hair nodded in agreement. "Right. I'll talk to Hikariko. If you wait about an hour, I'll get you into a private chat-room with him."

Kurogane nodded. This sounded too-good to be true and fishy but he hadn't found anyone worthy of his abilities. This had better be worth it… Damn chat-rooms. Damn head-sets. Damn basements…

**O**

"Sunday good for you?" Riotz asked again. Kurogane nodded. It was the third confirmation Riotz had asked and by now Kurogane was more than piss-angry. He had a mysterious someone to meet in two days and tomorrow, Sunday, he was making a midnight-run with Riotz. If this damn person didn't work out, he'd be flat out in options. He glanced over at the clock. Exactly twenty-fours until that midnight-run… God-damn it, why did virtual reality have to own the true reality and why were women such bitches?

Riotz waved his hand in front of Kurogane's eyes. The man refused to waver. It wasn't until Riotz had attempted to connect their lips that Kurogane noticed his current zombie-like state. "What the fuck are you doing? Get off of me and back away you pervert!"

"I was just telling you! That guy who you're supposed to meet in a couple of days, he's gonna be there, too. So, uh, if you get in a conversation with anyone about the internet, I think his passport…it's something obscure…like, Never-something. Oh, and there's something about being alone, too…"

"Whatever." Kurogane ignored the rest of Riotz rambling. Instead, he looked outside a window from their current perch. He saw people weed through each other in the crowds – they bumped and pushed and yet they were all going to exact same way. It wasn't until Kurogane saw a white coat running around with blonde hair and waved hands in the opposite direction that he felt something change. The blond was screaming a name he really didn't care about into the mass of people. Though nobody responded to the name, the stranger kept at it. He brushed everything away for a few brief moments and deducted that would be the type of person he would fall in love with - someone who had absolutely no clue where they were, lost as can be, and running around the place for their companion. For a reason or another, he smiled.

**O**

He waited and waited and waited and waited and waited some more. He was fed up and about to leave and damn Riotz to Hell and fuck him off when he received the invitation:

_You have been specially invited to Chat-Room ACA-100.  
Your presence has been requested.  
Accept or Deny?_

Of course he accepted it. He clicked and found himself face-to-face with some funky blond. The individual was slender and sleek, dressed in white, fluffy coats and blue robes. His golden hair was bouncy and moppy and harbored eyes of the purest blue. A smile was plastered on from ear-to-ear. Kurogane immediately blushed upon seeing the mysterious someone.

"You…have a rather unique avatar. I've never seen it," Kurogane stated nonchalantly.

The blond smiled in a psychotic way. "Thanks. I made it myself. It's actually a replica of myself. Most people say you shouldn't use your real image but I say screw them," he giggled.

Kurogane nodded. "Same here."

"Ah! You look like that for real? Hyuu… You're quite a nice catch. You net often?"

"Never."

The blond frowned. The room was dark with two plain seats. The setting changed to that of a restaurant instantly. "This is my personal web-space," the man explained, "so be my guest and let me treat you to whatever your heart desires." Kurogane blinked, staring at the setting skeptically before sitting down. "I'm Fai, by the way – Fai D. Flowright. My username is _NeverEndingSolitude_. Let's swap e-mail addresses!"

Kurogane nodded, sending a message to the blond male's account. "I'm Kurogane. _Death-SamaisHere972_."

Fai nodded. "So, Kuro-Rin works, ney?"

Kurogane glared. "What the fuck?"

An airy giggle filled the room. "You're competing in the event three days from now, huh? I've been meaning to compete, but there's no one worthy of my services. Stats?"

"No losses; Warrior, Level 87, 112380652 Exp. Points, specialty in katanas. Once I get to Level 95, I'm upgrading my package to Ninja. I'd be there already but I had to start from scratch with the new server."

Fai nodded. "Fair enough. I'm stronger than you, though. Can you handle that? One loss; Vampire, Level 107, 10 Exp. Points, specialty in dark infusions. I've already upgraded, as you can tell."

"You can't be stronger than me with one loss," Kurogane grunted.

Fai sighed. "Whatever. I don't think I'll be much help to you, really. I'm just a pretty face who'll do practically any scandalous event. That's what you want, right Kuro-Pi? A scandal? Something to get you on the top of the threads, forums, and chat-rooms?"

Crimson eyes blinked. "What the…? No. I wanna win this thing! There's gonna be this huge behemoth at the end of the event and I wanna beat it! I need magic!"

Fai giggled. "My! You did your homework! Kudos for you!" At that instant, a plate of kudos materialized on the white, laced tablecloth. "You must be a high-level programmer! Well, although I'd team up with you right off the bat for that, I don't think that's a good idea. I can't use magic."

Kurogane blinked in confusion. "But you're a Vampire. Your specialty is in dark infusions – the ambiguous category for any type of magic!"

"Still," Fai chimed, "I decided not to use it. Consider it my challenge for The World."

Kurogane sighed. "Whatever. If that's the case, you're wasting my time."

As Kurogane wandered about aimlessly for the exit he heard Fai's giggle. "The exit is the other way, Kuro-Bo… If you friend me, I'll come see you no matter what. I'm not what you're looking for, but I'd give you a great spin, I know it. Okay?"

Kurogane glared at the blond who sat sheepishly with an idiotically-happy grin. He hated this guy already.

**O**

Three days passed. Kurogane's lack of sleep was showing. He had been studying, working, attending classes and juggling The World at the same time. For the lack of time, he was glad he hadn't encountered his mother yet – she would have definitely found out if she saw the black bags under his eyes and the lack-of-sleep yawns. When he got fed up with searching of a PC-magic-user he'd spend his time gaining levels in World of Warcraft and Civilization's fantasy expansion package. Online playing was fun only because you could beat the crap out of anyone you wanted and not get arrested for it. Still, that high only lasted so long. He changed his games daily with exception to The World.

There was only one day left until the big day. Although he hadn't officially given up, Kurogane was convinced that this was the end of the line and he would not be able to participate this year. It wasn't as if he wanted the prize – he already won a Fimbultrv Axe with Earth-Magic infusion before in a contest earlier that year. Kurogane just enjoyed being a celebrity among The World. He was ranked the thirty-fifth strongest in reality's stats and was specially invited to Japan for a tournament among the best of the best. To be welcomed into such an honor yet not find a worthy PC magic-user was more than lame. The man sighed in a more-than-piqued way and turned on his newly-bought Zen. Music wasn't his forte but it was relaxing to hear something that seemed to describe you perfectly by people you didn't even know.

As any other day, Kurogane started his online gaming experience by weeding through his e-mail and deleting all that damn fan-mail. Such a hassle it was. The warrior-character was about to delete the whole first three pages of his new total of fifty-three pages when he found a familiar e-mail address.

_From: Subject: Lunch under the Sakura Petals?_

Kurogane blinked momentarily before recalling who that e-mail address belonged to. It was the very e-mail address of that damn wizard who **REFUSED** to use magic even though he was a specialist in dark infusions. Needless to say, he clicked on the e-mail.

_Hey Kuro-Pon! How's it going? It's hard keeping atop all the newest trends! (hectic sigh) ANYHOW! You're wondering what this has to do with anything… Well, I was reading about the newest addition to the expansion pack and found out that the ninja class has been bumped to the top. (hee) That reminded me of you so…I just wanted to leave you an e-mail!_

If you're not doing anything, how about we meet under the Sakura Petals in the Viola-Effrtz Park in the Neo-Danga Area? I'll treat you to lunch! I'll be waiting there even if you don't come, just so you know. Come at your own convenience.

Hope to see you there!

XOXO.Fai

Kuorgane blinked. This was probably the first event that someone had invited him to under their own accord and not his avatar's. His mouth bunched into a deep frown as his brows knitted up tightly. He replied to the message:

_To: Subject: Crazy_

What the Hell is that? You think I'd actually go to lunch with someone like you? Like Hell I'll be there. Just don't cry when I don't show up. Seriously, what kind of idiot are you?

After his fingers stopped flying by, he sent the e-mail. He deleted all his e-mail and then saved Fai's e-mail address under his contacts: Damn Wizard. After that, he made sure he saved Fai's e-mail. He even checked the folder to make sure it saved properly. He bit his bottom lip and then wondered why the Hell he did that… Damn basement was probably just making him go insane…

**O**

Fai returned to his laptop shortly after. He had just gotten out of the shower when he heard his laptop ring. This certain ringing sound in particular referred to a new message from an important contact. He opened his inbox folder eagerly when a smile crossed his face. It was from Kurogane – that ninja-PC he met earlier that week. He had actually gotten a reply!

_From: Kuro-Pon Subject: Crazy_

After reading the reply, he smiled in dissatisfaction. His smiled curled upwards. Elegant fingers flew about the keyboards forming a quick message. The rest of the clicks and types were e-mail to, 'clients,' and e-friends and real friends. He smiled, saving Kuro-Chu's e-mail for last. He grabbed his mouse, clicking, 'Send.'

His wet locks of golden hair dripped. Pulling a white towel over his head, he dried his hair as he waited for a reply.

**O**

He had waited for ten minutes for Fai's reply. It wasn't as if he was actually waiting. He was just deleting every page of fan-mail one-by-one because he had never done it before – maybe it could be fun…

As he deleted the last page of unread fan-mail he received a new e-mail in his in-box:

_From: Damn Wizard   
Subject: Even Saints were Bribed…_

If that's what you want, fine. It's not like my conscious if going to be the one screaming bloody murder. But if you were still interested in that event, I'll let you know that even I can be bribed. You know where to find me.

Kisses.Fai

Kurogane grunted in the most irritated way. He sent Fai another e-mail. It was much longer than anything he had ever typed or said to anyone but could be easily summed up in two words: Fuck You.

**O**

"So…You're not gonna meet him?" Riotz asked, somewhat taken aback.

"Fuck no," Kurogane grumbled. He crossed his arms behind him, settling his head on his palms as he looked up into the boundless sky. The possibilities were endless and yet he couldn't even find a companion up to par with his ability…or willing to act up to par with his ability.

"Hey aren't the Sakura Petals in the Viola-Effrtz Park in the Neo-Danga Area in the next area? If nothing else you'd get lunch!" Riotz offered in a laugh.

Kurogane mumbled a set of ten obscenities under his breath. "Fuck no."

Riotz shrugged his bare shoulders. Today his avatar was that of an average-build male with short blond hair and a single green eye and a blue eye. "It's not my decision. I was just saying. I gotta meet my girl in ten minutes." He slinked over to Kurogane and slipped his arms around the ninja's broad shoulders. "I didn't know if Kuro-Yun was going to be okay without me…"

Kurogane stood up abruptly as he glared Riotz in the eye. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

The blond male shrugged. "Nothing. Just that Vampire you met has posted up a thread everywhere asking for romance tips. Everyone has been bugging him for a picture or the first memory he had with this mysterious someone but he refuses to tell. He just calls this person, 'Kuro-Yun,' so…I just assumed it was you."

"You don't know that," Kurogane scowled.

Riotz nodded. "I know. But he's got a reputation. Think of the connections. It might not be a bad thing to get to know him. That's all. Now, I gotta go meet my girl, okay? Laters."

**O**

Tonight's goal of gaining a level was reached. Gaining a level when one is a Level 117 Ninja isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. He sighed in an exhausted tone. He needed to warp to three different areas before he could save. There were many ways to go about it, but Fai surfaced into Kurogane's mind. Was he still waiting for him? It had almost been thirteen hours since the appointed time. If he waited there for a whole day, that'd just be insane. He figured he could warp to Neo-Danga as a shortcut and skip an area.

As the light wrapped around his body in a soothing way, the ninja glanced around for the Viola-Effrtz Park it was the only one with Sakura trees so he figured it wouldn't be too hard to find it. As luck had it, he spent exactly two-hours attempting to find the damn park. He made a mental note that this would make fourteen-hours and forty-seven minutes past the appointed time.

Kurogane glanced about in search of the blond. He sighed, realizing Fai was not around. For some reason, that made him feel really crappy. The heat of the torched flames lighting the area was not helping, either. It was down-right pissing him off. He turned around to warp to the area where his log-out was destined. A hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Kuro-Ranran? Really? You did come!" a voice behind him chimed.

Kurogane's nerve pulsated. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?! How long did you wait? That's insane! It's late! What if someone jumped you, huh?" he roared with flaring crimson eyes. His black cape billowed in the wind.

Fai smiled brightly, immediately glomping the taller man. "Oh! Kuro-Chu was _worried_ about me! That…makes me happy. I missed you," the blond male squealed, snuggling in deeper into Kurogane's chest. The ninja blushed furiously.

"What the Hell?!" Kurogane roared. "We only met once!"

Fai giggled in amusement, benting his eyebrows weakly. "Love at first sight? I don't know…"

Kurogane blushed an even deeper shade of brilliant red. "You have to be joking," he sneered through gritted teeth, ruffling Fai's golden locks of hair unconciously. Fai shrugged. His eyes flashed an ice-blue – the sign of a save point. Red snorted before saving himself. He grabbed Fai's waist afterwards. "You owe me lunch."

Fai's eyes glittered with hearts and stars happily. He chimed back a reply without hesitation, "Perfect! Tomorrow sound good? We can meet here or maybe a chat-room and then go from there…"

"I don't do chat-rooms," Kurogane reminded.

Fai nodded, gulping as he calmed himself down. He looked up deeply into Kurogane's fiery eyes and smiled. "You saved, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. You'll need it."

Fai jumped up on his tip-toes, attaching his lips onto Kurogane's chapped pair. The ninja gasped wide-eyed after the short peck parted. His mouth curled inwards before he swallowed hard. That was his first kiss. Even if there was no emotion behind it, he could feel the warm feeling and wet, moist, smooth lips against his own. His heart raced and he could feel himself being turned on by this…man. It was sick and yet he wanted to feel Fai's lips against his own. Kurogane brought their lips together again.

"It's a date," he whispered hoarsely. Fai giggled in a high-school girl way, shifting in deeper into Kurogane's embrace. Their lips yearned for each other's mouth again. Soon they found each other. Just as they went to have another passionate kiss, everything went dark…

**O**

Kurogane opened his eyes reluctantly. When he opened them again, he wasn't in the world. He was in reality. His stomach flipped. That really was The World…that was really where he…kissed…Fai. He gulped deeply before realizing his current state: Falling off of his gaming chair with an arm wrapped around his computer screen, lips pressed against the screen, legs spread apart and his other hand touching himself. He went a deeper red than he'd ever gone in The World. This was just wrong! On top of that, he was well aware that Fai was a man!

This only led to more blushing before he looked at the wall. He saw a shadow looming over him. He made no attempt to look behind for he knew who it was. Kurogane looked on the optimistic bright-side – something he never did – at least he had saved.

**LOG-OUT ACCEPTED. NEXT LOG-IN REQUESTED.**

**

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**Afterthoughts: It may not be very enjoyable to read, but I had a BLAST writing this. Smut scenes will be fun in this strand. (one of the few stories I'd continue for my selfish benefit) I really want to write scenes where Kurogane keeps getting Fai's nationality wrong when introducing him. (heh) "This is Fai. He's from Lithuania." "**Ukraine**." "Oh, yeah... Whatever." Okay, maybe that's not as funny to you as it seems to me, but I'd love to see the expression on Kurogane's mom's face as he introduces her to the root of all his sexual problems/assumed lover. Or things like Kurogane and Fai speaking sexy video-game lingo. (o) I'm just a freak...?

If you have an idea for themes (especially titles,) please share. (wrote, 'pleasure share,' before fixing it) x3 Anything you'd like to see, I'll try to incorporate. Reviews of any kind keep me going even if they make my head swell up like a vegetable and make me feel like exploding. Please leave one if you have time:3 


	2. You've Never Met Your Boyfriend

**You've Never Met Your Boyfriend**

Intro: -KOTOKO, 'Angst'- I bring the second chapter! This one turned out longer than expected so it took a bit more time. (sweat drop) Thank you all for reading and reviewing the last chapter and for waiting so patiently for this next installment; I'm so glad this storyline is enjoyed. I was really nervous introducing this sort of setting. (phweet) It doesn't feel like I wrote them cussing as much, but I can't remember this chapter very well. There's still a lot of cussing. You've been warned (again.)

A/N: Crack ahoy?

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**LOG-IN REQUESTED. PASSWORD ACCEPTED.**

_"Anee-Chan, Anee-Chan! What do you think about?"_

_The girl, a blossoming beauty at sixteen, laughed humorously in the air and patted her little brother's head. She had long raven locks with the most splendid gleaming sapphires for eyes. Her smile warmed the coldest of hearts and everyone agreed that when she found, 'Mr. Right,' she surely would live happily-ever-after. "The one I love most of all," she whispered._

_The boy's scarlet rubies widened and his cheeks became as bright as his eyes. "You love someone, Kendappa-Anee-Chan?"_

_"Yes," she answered with a coy smile. "Would you like to know who, Kurogane?"_

_Her little brother nodded eagerly while tugging at her sleeves. "Tell me, tell me! I want to know who Anee-Chan loves!"_

_"Well," she began, tapping a finger against her chin as if she was deep in thought, "it's a secret." The girl winked with the most mischievous expression the energetic boy had seen his sister wear yet._

_"Anee-Chan!" he pouted loudly. Again he tugged at her clothing. Kendappa couldn't help but laugh at her brother's outburst. He truly was mother and father's favorite - so spoiled rotten._

_"Alright!" Kendappa gave in like she always did. One of these days, the boy might become a monster out considering how spoiled he was, she thought to herself in slight amusement. The female leaned her face down to Kurogane's level. Kurogane's eyes followed the direction his sister's finger was aimed at. His eyes fell upon a tan, somewhat somber-looking girl. She was sitting down near a table away from everybody else and her legs neatly crossed over the other. Her head was bowed so Kurogane couldn't get a good look at her face. "That's Sôma."_

_The boy smiled at his elder, happy to know the face of the one she loved most of all. "She looks so sad, Anee-Chan!"_

_"That's because both of her parents passed away recently. You remember last week? Well that was the last time she saw her parents. We were very sad when Grandma died, remember? What she feels is even worse," Kendappa replied weakly as if she, too, was sharing the pain. "When I see her, I want to make her special - like she still has a place int his world. I want to make her smile again and protect her so nothing like this ever happens again."_

_Kurogane's red eyes fixated on his sister's expression. His breath was completely taken; it felt like time had stopped. No words could begin to explain this sensation yet at the same time there were infinite words to describe it. Kendappa had never looked at him like **that**. Nobody had, when he thought about it. "...Is that what it's like to be in love?"_

_"I...suppose," she mused, quite obviously embarrassed. Her smile might have been messy and filled with many thoughts, but it was purely genuine. After regaining her composure, she patted Kurogane's head for the last time and look at him with stern eyes. "When you find there person you love the most - more than me, mom, dad, or Anee-Sama or Tomo-Chan - and I know you will find them someday, you'll think of them all the time. And when you think of them all the time, it'll just remind you of how much you want to be with them. Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to make that special person happy?"_

_The young boy clenched his fists with just as serious eyes. "I promise!" he announced loudly, "and I'll think about them **all** the time! I'll make that person happy!"_

_Kendappa never replied but Kurogane had the feeling she **understood** him. Kurogane remember that smiled smiled at him after that but nothing else much. That was the last memory Kurogane had of his favorite sister._

**O**

Kurogane's eyes jolted wide open and he snapped upright in his bed with a racing heart. These strange...childhood-memory dreams were starting to creep him out. Was he going to end up like Tidus and end up being sent to his future to fight alongside three hot chicks? Probably not. He didn't like girls anyways. It was in that instant he slapped himself. Since when did he _not_? True, he couldn't say he was truly ever attracted to a girl to the point where it hurt him to think about her...but that would mean that he was gay. Which he wasn't.

Fai was gay. Oh so very gay. He was as much the poster child for gay as Ganon was for evil.

Then, he slapped himself again. Thinking of Fai first thing in the morning after having a dream about talking with his older sister about love was **clearly** not a good combination. What was even worse, something warm was beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. It made him feel sick in a good sort of way.

And he slapped himself for the third time this morning. His forehead and cheeks were burning lightly form the contact so he decided to stop thinking altogether.

He rose from his bed and creaked the door open as quietly as possible. The Sun wasn't poking from behind the blinds so it must have been early. At any cost, there was nothing to do in his empty room except sleep. All his stuff had been moved downstairs to the unruly basement.

**Target set. Approximate time until destination: one minute and thirty-six seconds.**

He jumped down the stairs - quietly he reminded himself, so as to not awake his mother. It would probably be awhile until he himself awoke from his half-sleepy state, though. Kurogane stretched when he reached the bottom of the stairwell. Stretching to the right, his stomach knotted upon sight of the other male in his family portrait. If that man ever came home, he'd kill him. If that man called home, he'd kill him. If that man so much as **thought** about the family he left behind, he'd kill him. Damn it, all he wanted was his cute, little puppy er...vicious, rabies-infected, damned-killer dog back...

There was a new lock on the basement's door, Kurogane noticed. He had the distinct feeling his mother didn't want him to playing The World anymore after walking in on last night's incident. His face flustered up but he didn't slap himself. He picked the lock easily like the ninja he was and walked into the dark room. Heartbeats were thumping in his ears - racing so fast he felt almost a little bit paranoid. And maybe...it was also a little hope that maybe Fai was on right now. Fai owed him lunch but he could settle for breakfast.

He might have realized how cold the room was if he wasn't warm from thinking about Fai...

**O**

Not even Riotz - who seemed to **live** in The (freaking) World twenty-four-seven - was not on this early in the morning. Not in his time, at least. Damn Riotz. He was probably having sex or getting drunk or getting over a hangover from getting drunk and screwing his girlfriend all night long. Damn him.

Kurogane was probably going to miss the contest in Talabithithiz Square but that was okay with him now. After convincing himself that he already had three back-ups of the big prize and much gaming yesterday, it was clear to him that he didn't need to win a stupid contest to secure his rank as best fighter in The World's American population. It wouldn't have been any challenge for him, anyways. Before he knew it, a body had collided with him from behind, arms snaking around his waist.

"_Fuck_! Tell me before you do something so fucking gay, ass-hole!" he roared. The ninja grabbed the intruding hand and pulled it forward. He choked was he assumed to be be Riotz's neck firmly and slammed the body forward. Instead, **amused** cerulean eyes were glittering in front of him brightly.

"Kuro-Bu! I never knew you'd be so forward! Hyuu, shouldn't we save things like that for the bedroom?" Let alone the fact he had practically body slammed Fai to the ground from behind, the idiot should have the daylights knocked out of him from Kurogane choking his neck so hard.

"Shit," Kurogane cursed. He released his grip instantly and the rest of Fai's body thudded to the ground. The blond laughed like it was just a joke played wrong as he picked himself up. Kurogane could feel his cheeks going red - he could feel it - but he made sure that his avatar was completely composed. "Hey," the ninja murmured as he reached out for the lean body, "in-instead of lunch, treat me...treat me to brea-"

Fai brushed his hand away easily, ignoring even the stuttering. "I'd love to talk about our Soul Caliburs with you Kuro-Pyo - trust me, I would - but there's a chat-room I need to be in right now."

A nerve by Kruogane's forehead pulsated. Fai was choosing a chat-room over **him**?! "I'll go with you," he growled, low and demanding.

"Really?!" The blond couldn't believe he just blurted that out loud. He covered his mouth instantly with a small blush. "I mean," he corrected, tangling a finger into his hair meekly, "I thought you said you didn't do chat-rooms...?"

"I don't." Kurogane took a deep breath. He'd need it for what he was about to say... "I needed to talk to you about something anyways, so it works out." _I need to talk to you about last night_.

Fai blinked for three complete minutes. His brain was working slow this morning. Once everything was processed and sent it for confirmation in the reception-desk in Fai's membrane, he smiled. "Great! I'll send you the invite right now!"

**O**

_Death-SamaisHere679 has **entered the Chat-Room**  
NeverEndingSolitude: Ah! Kuro-Pon! GLOMPS I'm so glad to see you!  
xhikarix: wtf? Who the Hell is this?  
buymypuppy: It's Fai-Sama's frickin' crush, dipstick!  
xhikarix: OH…  
xhikarix: Oh…  
xhikarix: OMG! Like, HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II!  
pAnIc4cRaZe: Yo. Hoz it hngn'? U gtta b smthn' 2 gt Fai-Chan's attn.…  
NeverEndingSolitude: All of you just shut up! blush  
buymypuppy: Touch our Fai and we will personally stalk you down and cut your -CENSORED- off!  
Administrator: The above post has been edited.  
KarinChan-123ABC: Heyos! What's your TW passport? I'd like to meet!  
buymypuppy: That's right. We need to see if you're worthy of Fai-Chan!  
pAnIc4cRaZe: no1's good enof 4 Fai…  
xhikarix: glomps Fai  
NeverEndingSolitude: is suffocating under pressure  
Blu: Hey, I'm new! Let's be friends!  
buymypuppy: Shut up! We're discussing Fai!  
Blu: O.o  
xhikarix: Total burn, Kachiro…  
MahoSenseiNegima: Can we get back to the RPG-ing?  
buymypuppy: NO!  
buymypuppy: Fai's hubby has entered the scene! We direct our attention to them!  
xhikarix: Ya. I totally agree.  
pAnIc4cRaZe: U al'r jst Fai-obsessed  
xhikarix: Shut up, Kôtaro! So are you!  
pAnIc4cRaZe: WTF do u tink I am?  
NeverEndingSolitude: Okay guys, seriously!  
buymypuppy: Just another rabid fan-boy  
xhikarix: Nice, Kachiki. high-five  
NeverEndingSolitude: God damn it, listen to me!  
buymypuppy: high-fives back  
buymypuppy: You know it.  
xhikarix: Thumbs up  
pAnIc4cRaZe: Dude, I'm nt Fai-obssd  
buymypuppy: This is coming from the guy who showed us pictures of his room  
xhikarix: And had posters of Fai EVERYWHERE  
buymypuppy: And that huge collage of Fai-piccies  
xhikarix: That made a piccy of Fai when looked from afar…  
buymypuppy: high-five  
xhikarix: You totally rock, Kachiro! kiss  
pAnIc4cRaZe: Dude! Tht ws, lk, moi frndz rm…!  
xhikarix: So why is there a, '…' at the end of your post?  
buymypuppy: Miwa-Chan has a point  
NeverEndingSolitude: Does it even MATTER anymore?  
NeverEndingSolitude: Can we just forget this and act cool or what?  
xhikarix: Anything for you, Fai-Chan!  
buymypuppy: Let's meet in The World's Delta Server tonight  
buymypuppy: And bring along this 'Kuro-Pon'  
xhikarix: I'm totally there  
pAnIc4cRaZe: I don't have a Delta Server!  
xhikarix: Tough luck, Taro-Baka  
NeverEndingSolitude: I haven't agreed to that!  
buymypuppy: We're totally going to crash their first date  
NeverEnding Solitude: WHATEVER! Kuro-Bo, I'll get us a private chat-room  
buymypuppy: But we haven't interrogated him yet!  
xhikarix: He hasn't even spoken…  
NeverEndingSolitude: I wonder why! You guys are SCARING him!  
buymypuppy: If he's scared of us, how's he gonna confront Ashura-Kun?  
xhikarix: I side with Kachiki on this one, Fai-Chan…  
NeverEndingSolitude: We haven't even had a date!  
Death-SamaisHere679 has **left the Chat-Room**_

This was exactly why he hated chat-rooms. In the blink of an eye he entered and in the whirl of a moment he left out of fear. People threatening to cut off his Level 9 Gravity-Infused Rapier just for meeting Fai were a force to be reckoned with, after all…

**O**

Kurogane received another invitation into a different chat-room. He remembered the room's title as Fai's personal web-space so he took no haste in accepting. The room looked different from last time. What was once a charming cafe was now a cool, sleek lounge. Crimson eyes glanced around to get a certain feel and he was distinctively reminded of Riotz ever-changing appearance.

Fai was seated on a chase with heavy-lidded eyes. "I'm sorry, Kuro-Ren… This is my entire fault. I just figured that-"

"Doesn't matter," Kurogane snapped, grabbing Fai's hand with a furious blush as plopped down next to the thin figure. The blond gasped upon the touch, holding his breath with a flinch as if Kurogane's hand would explode. Blushes plastered across both of the males' faces.

Fai cleared his throat before waving his hand to a door on the left. "This way," he instructed, leading Kurogane to another room. "The lovebirds are in the other one."

"Lovebirds?" Kurogane poked an eyebrow up as he rose from his seat.

"Syaoran-Kun! Sakura-Chan! You two come out!" the blond hollered as he banged on the door loudly. The door clicked open and two brunet teenagers stepped out. Kurogane didn't know what he expected by the names, 'Syaoran,' or, 'Sakura,' but they were definitely not two scrawny-looking boys who looked identical to one another. "Sakura and Syaoran," Fai announced proudly, placing either hand on one shoulder of the boys.

Kurogane couldn't help it. It was just that the first thing that came to mind was: "Incest...?!"

The vampire walked up to Kurogane and pinched his cheeks forcefully. "Now, now. Don't be going around jumping to conclusions like a grumpy puppy."

One of the boys stepped up. He placed a hand over his chest and look Kuogane straight in the eye. "I'm Sakura; known as, _xhikarix_ in chat-room 1654-AZN R:2. She's one of my alter egos, you could say. I only use her for threading."

"Syaoran," the other informed, "_buymypuppy_ in chat-room 1654-AZN R:2. 'Kachiro,' is my _other_ name as Sakura's is, 'Miwako.'"

Kurogane blinked. He didn't know that relationship like that actually existed in but at least it was obvious which one was the bitch.

"Syaoran made this avatar for me as an alteration of one of his own as a gift," the she-man Sakura explained. "But I'm really a girl."

All of a sudden, Kurogane felt very uncomfortable. It was like the first time he wondered if Mario and Peach ever actually _did_ it.

"...Well!" Fai announced, clasping his hands together with a bright, chiming voice, "This is Kurogane. We'll be in the other room, okay?" The boys nodded skeptically before closing the door. Fai's blue eyes glittered. "Well, shall we?"

Kurogane nodded. "Is it..._safe_ for twins to stay in the same room when one thinks they're a girl and the other looks like he really wants to..._do_ stuff to the other...?"

"Kuro-Byu!" Fai's laughter filled the air. "She's a girl. Really. I've met her before," he assured while patting the ninja on the back.

The room looked almost identical to the other room with an exception to a bar and the colors. Fai had sat on the edge of a couch. Kurogane sat beside him, close enough to touch him but far enough to where neither could start any _serious_ conversation.

"Awkward," Fai joked.

Kurogane nodded. "Nn."

"Well since it's already awkward enough," Fai started, scooting next to Kurogane with a blush, "You know that I'm really a guy, Kuro-Ron, right?"

The question was light but Kurogane could hear the seriousness in Fai's tone. "Yeah. It's not very hard to figure out, you know." He held his breath momentarily, gulping as he felt fingertips lightly brush against his thigh. A cold drop of sweat slipped down his nape and he could feel himself getting excited in the dry, cold chill.

Fai blushed even deeper, squeezing Kurogane's hand slightest hard. "We…barely know each other, Kuro-Wanko… Don't you think we need a little more…time?"

Kurogane scoffed at the comment with an irritated yawn, completely ruining the moment. He hadn't gotten any sleep last night and the psycho was just thinking of this **now**? It wasn't like Kurogane had stayed up all night because he was contemplating how he was going to handle this very situation or anything. He had to get the mantra staff in Suikoden IX before he could start on that.

Fai glanced up at the silent ninja. "Hey, did you play Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life for the GameCube when it first came out?" Fai assumed the ninja's blushing was a pure, 'yes.' "You know, if you give Celia flowers everyday, you can marry her for your wife in less than a year." Kurogane nodded with a, 'nn,' which Fai took as an, 'I knew that already.' Fai chuckled a moment as he glanced up at the ceiling, which was transparent glass to showcase a night sky. "It kinda feels like that right now," the blond confessed, giving the rough hand a squeeze.

Kurogane glared at the mage through the side-slits of his eyes. "What the Hell're you impling, jack-ass?"

The vampire smiled warmly at Kurogane, his smile lop-sided and messy. Slender shoulders shrugged before a sigh. "It's comfortable being around you, you know? Celia is one of those comforting types. I can't say I went with her first because I heard Nami was harder to get and I wanted to get the most out of my game-playing time so I did that."

"She's annoying," Kurogane gruffly sneered. Women who acted like they didn't notice or care about you were annoying. Women who didn't appreciate your efforts were annoying. He sat up with a brief stretch and walked over to a bar. He inspected the alcoholic bottles a moment and wondered if he could get drunk off something that wasn't real.

Fai's laughter filled the room as he watched the ninja with genuine curiosity. "You can't get drunk," Fai explained, "I tried that already, mm?"

Scarlet eyes glanced over sharply. He took a bottle and poured two glasses of alcohol. He strolled over to where the blond was sitting and handed him a drink. "Morning Mist."

"Just like the ones Griffin sells in the bar in the evening of the DS Harvest Moon? My, Kuro-Chan, are you trying to seduce me with video games?" Fai chuckled lightly, sipping the cup. Kurogane blushed, shrugging the comment off. Cerulean eyes watched his every move, hungry, as if the earlier comment was supposed to mean something. "If we could get drunk off these drinks, would you mind getting drunk with me?"

"If you're as much of a fucking ass as you are now, no."

Fai's lips pursed together as their ends perked upwards. "That's a very daring thing to say given your circumstances, Kuro-Puu," the mage cooed, closing in on the other man. "You're technically in my area now. I could do anything and claim it to be consented, you know."

Kurogane's cheeks heated up as moist partings pressed against his cheek. "Are you lying when you say we can't get drunk or do you just act drunk all the time?" Fai snorted, the warm puff of air tickling the inside of Kurogane's ear. The taller man fidgeted under the touch a bit, subconsciously spreading his legs slightly as Fai traced circles in this inside of his thighs. Kurogane choked back a groan and Fai's grabbed his erection. His cheeks flushed up completely.

Fai stopped abruptly with a dissatisfied grin. "We can't do this. Any inappropriate behavior and my server will kick us both out," he sighed, slumping backwards.

A raven eyebrow poked up. "Why the Hell would you make a script like that?"

"I was curious." Pink lips thinned out. "And this is my sanctuary. I don't want anything I don't mean happening here...or anything I wouldn't want, for that matter."

Scarlet eyes averted, taking fancy in the floor. "...You're the one who started this. How can you say it doesn't mean anything?" He groaned loudly, both physically and mentally slapping his head. "I'm leaving. Thanks for the drink."

Fai tugged on Kurogane's wrist but the ninja swatted the hand away. "Kuro-" He left before Fai could finish. Pounding his fist against a wall, he groaned frustration. He didn't want to hear any lame excuses. Fai wouldn't have meant them anyways.

**O**

Kurogane had logged off his computer completely shortly after the incident with Fai. He trudged up the stairs and made sure to lock the door behind him. There was already a sound knives cutting something in the kitchen so he climbed up the stairs only to jump down them loudly. His path was different than last time, walking towards the sound rather his asylum. There his mother was like ever other morning, cutting up fresh food to serve a nutritiously balanced meal to her son, the only offspring she had living in the house for quite some time.

The woman looked up when he creaked the door. "Kurogane," his mother said lightly, as if it might break her son if she said more. She placed down her fresh-cut fruit to the side. "We need to talk, sweetie."

Kurogane didn't want to talk. Most people wouldn't want to talk after their love interest denied sex because it might be something they'd regret. "What's for breakfast?" he asked to dismiss the question. The man craned his head around to look for the main course in case it wasn't convincing enough.

"Pancakes with fruit on the side. Listen Kurogane, I don't know what...**things** you're doing online, but I just want to know you're not doing anything that will hurt yourself."

Kurogane's stomach twisted. It wouldn't be a good idea to tell his mom he might not be doing that again for awhile due to the morning's activities. As far as he knew, this was her way of telling him he'd never be able to go near another computer in his lifetime. "I...can't tell you. This is my own mother-fucking-" He clenched his eyes, knowing he'd be scolded for that later, "-my own problem. I brought it upon myself and I'll fix it." God knew he'd fix it. First step would be getting rid of Fai.

"You look depressed," she noticed aloud. Kurogane grunted in annoyance. His mother's brows bent and she reached over, cradling his hands in her palms. "Did something happen? It involves someone special, right? Is a girl involved - did she break your heart?"

Kurogane smirked in an amused manner. "It doesn't involve a girl, mom. Just stop. I played Kannazuki no Miko's PC game and didn't cry when Himeko almost died. It's got nothing to do with a girl, okay?" That wasn't a lie. He didn't cry. His eyes may have been watering up against his will but he didn't belt out crying like Riotz did when they played the game together. The, 'together,' part might make him cry out of lameness now but back then it seemed like a good idea...

Emerald eyes softened. "If it's not something you can tell me, at least tell your friend... What's his name...? Ribbon? I don't like him much, but you two seem close. I'm sure-"

"Fuck no. I'd never tell that bastard about my personal life. I rather die," Kurogane hissed.

A bright smile formed instantly. "I knew it had something to do with my baby's personal life! What's wrong, sweetie? Tell Mommy, I won't get mad at you."

Scarlet eyes widened with a nervous, scary smirk-like expression. There was no way in **Hell** he had just said that. There was no way in Hell he had been that idiotic.

His mother clasped her hands together delightfully with gleaming eyes. "I get it! You've been so overburdened with work and school that you've found an online lover. How absolutely charming!"

A raven eyebrow twitched in horror at his mother's gushing outburst. "I'm leaving," he groaned, running our of the entrance of the house. Going without breakfast was better than sticking around and listening to **this**.

"Lovers like flowers!" his mother called, waving good-bye from the door's threshold.

Kurogane groaned. '_He's not my lover yet_,' he thought to himself. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his feet with a shaken frown. '_Yet...?_' He shook his head from side-to-side and even slapped his own cheek. There was no way he'd be so stupid to fall for an idiotic blond who had very unsubtly implied that he felt nothing for his avatar. '_Not my lover_,' he assured, biting his lower lip with heated cheeks.

And for once, Kurogane could sympathize with Himeko. She annoyed the Hell out of him but right now he was acting just like her.

"Poor Kuro-Wan!" A nerve by his forehead pulsated. At least the bastard decided to warn him. Arms glomped his waist but it wasn't enough for Kurogane to attack the man. The lips attaching to his neck were.

"What the shit?!" he demanded, throwing the man behind him off as his cheeks changed from a hot red to an enraged pink.

Riotz laughed, scratching his head in amusement. "Are you lovesick? Did the big, bad vampire drink you life essence's innocence? I bet you already fucked him, didn't you? How was it? Did he scream in ecstasy as his orgasm came and you cradled his chin so and-"

"Shut the Hell up!" Kurogane screeched, punching the man in the jaw. Riotz laughed but clearly Kurogane was not happy with the situation. "A guy shouldn't have any idea about those things, anyway! What the Hell're you doing? You're not fooling around with guys on the side of your girl, right?"

"Of course not!" the man protested, his mint-green eyes gleamed seriously. He hand a pale hand through his jet-black hair with a pouting lip. "I love my girl more than anything in the world. I wouldn't do that," he explained, a pale shade of pink covering his cheeks.

Kurogane snorted with crossed arms. "Yeah. She's what, sixteen? And you're thirty-one. Pedophile."

Riotz grinned. He stood up and brushed his leather pants off. "You totally ruined my pants, dude."

"Your own fucking problem," Kurogane hissed. He couldn't care less.

The pale man smiled in amusement and ran to catch up with his companion. "Something happened. You can't hide it from me."

"I can't hide anything from you," Kurogane reminded. For better or worse. Having someone to rant to made things somewhat better, at least.

"Things aren't going good?" The man looked shocked. "He seemed really into you. What the fuck did you do? Did you tell him you didn't want someone with a pee-pee?"

"**Shut the fuck up**!" Kurogane roared, hitting the man. He stopped walking and leaned against the fence. "Okay," he said as he massaged his temples, "you have the latest game of Suikoden in your hands. The artwork is wonderful and only makes you more and more eager as you look at it." Riotz nodded. "You open the disc and it looks as good as the cover. You pop it into your PlayStation, feelin' really good right now. You play level one and everything is wonderful. In fact, the game is so game different than any of the others but because of that makes it so totally kissassawesome, you're doubting that any of it's real."

"Fucking sweet," Riotz gushed. "But my girl is Final Fantasy if your guy is Suikoden."

Kurogane glared at him. "Shut up. We're not going out and what would give you the idea any of this has to do with him?"

Riotz groaned as he rolled his eyes. "Get on with it."

"You play level one and everything is great. You have full stock, your item is nowhere near its breakage limit, and the boss only has a few hit points. You're going to make one of the final moves when the game freezes up. Do you restart or do you wait for it to resume?"

Riotz nodded thoughtfully. "Well, if it were me, I'd bang the game to see if the disc got stuck." Kurogane poked an eyebrow up like that would not apply in his situation. "And then," he continued, "if it still wasn't working, I'd pull out of my lightsaber replicas and beat the fuck out of the machine until it started to fry and my fire-alarm went off." The male was nodded his head with a wide smile. "And after it all, I'd grab a beer and destroy something else." All that he was missing was the convict uniform and then Kurogane would have valid proof criminals were allowed to roam about freely.

"Yeah. Not happening," he hissed, resuming his walk.

Riotz ran to catch up again and patted Kurogane on the back. "Dude, what you need to do is go home, sign on, and look at some porn! Er..._wholesome entertainment_!" Kurogane sighed. "You have work at seven tonight, right?"

"Unfortunately."

"I'll cover for you. But I get any tips I make that night," the taller male proposed.

"Whatever."

"Alright man, I gotta see my girl."

"Didn't you just see her?" Kurogane asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"What can I say?" Riotz laughed. "I'm my girl's love-slave!"

"At least you're not a queer."

"Don't talk bad about yourself." Riotz slapped him in the back a couple of times before crossing the street. He waved over to the companion he'd just left with a huge grin. "And don't forget about the porn!"

One of these Kurogane was going to ensure Riotz would be a dead man. He just didn't want to be arrested over someone who should technically be arrested like any other runaway convict.

**O**

'Wholesome entertainment,' Kurogane kept reminded himself. 'Wholesome entertainment.' It was just rather difficult keeping a straight face as he told his mother that he was going to chat with that online-lover of his when he was just going to leech porn. When she smiled with a light remark, it made his stomach twist. He just couldn't do something so tainted when she had this fantasy of her perfect son. Damn himself for being such a sucker.

The man honestly had no idea what he was going to do. He was in one of those moods - the ones you feel like doing something but nothing calls out; the type that whenever you think of doing something you might like, it just doesn't appeal. He had been signed on for a good thirty minutes staring at a blank screen. Somewhere between the forty-five minute and one-hour mark, he realized that what he was doing was rather stupid.

He was groaning, lightly banging his fist against his head as he pulled up his inbox.

**O**

Fai had been nervous in the sense that he knew he had screwed up, knew how he screwed up, but couldn't do anything about it. 'No use crying over spilled milk,' as the saying goes. Unfortunately, he still couldn't shake off the feelings running through his veins.

As he bit his bottom lip in distress, he looped a message through all his regular chat-rooms and forums. Magazines that had advice on relationships for the most part never worked. Why read something like that when there were no comics or multimedia incorporated, anyways? People with real-life experience were the way to go and the first person to reply with sensible advice within the next twelve hours was going to get a kick-ass layout personally made by him.

A kissing sound rang through the air and his heart jumped. That was the sound he configured anytime his Kuro-Wanko sent him a message. With a half, hopeful smile on his face, he opened his inbox and clicked on the new message:

_From: Kuro-Pon Subject: Dammit_

_You still owe me a fucking lunch_

He smiled fondly at the message, he couldn't help it. What he expected was some chewing out - that seemed to fit Kurogane's ego just so. Swearing off was different than the silent treatment he was used to serving but not all people were like that, he supposed... Just the one he managed to fall for.

**O**

Kurogane had considered applying a sound for whenever Fai sent him a new message. He had never configured sound for anyone else before and decided against it because of that. He received messages frequently but most of it he didn't even open. It was annoying him now whenever his inbox rang and he checked it only to find out it wasn't Fai. The major problem was that he couldn't think of a noise that he could associate with Fai instantly... A chime...? Glass breaking? The sound of a car-crash? Maniacal laughter? Maybe a kissing sound...? That last one made him feel like barfing.

A kissing sound rang through the air and he clicked on the message, knowing for a fact that message was sent by Fai and could only have been Fai.

_From: Damn Wizard  
Subject: See You Then_

_Sounds good! I'll send you another e-mail in a minute with the time and place. I can't wait to see you there, it'll be our little date!_

_Love.Fai_

Kurogane stared blankly at the screen. Nobody wrote Kurogane letters. As a child, he used to send letters out to family members who replied back, but as he grew older the letters stopped coming. When he turned eighteen he was lucky if he received something other than spam. (His gaming magazines didn't count since they were l33t reading material made of awesome.) So seeing an e-mail signed with, 'love,' felt a little awkward after all this time. For a moment he was hoping that Fai was Celia and he was the main player and not the other way around.

**O**

Kurogane saved as he leaned against a post. Fai had told him to meet at the Stellvitzia Café in Vianova Plaza at eleven-thirty. He was right on time. Still, he saved even after that just to make sure of the time. He didn't want to be late. This was going to be his date with Fai. He didn't want to show up late and it wasn't like he was stressing over this much (though he made sure to visit a vendor and buy a new cloak since his last one had rips in it.) He had slept for two hours last night which was good because he didn't think he'd get any with this being his first date in his life and all...

"KU-RO-PI-YO-N!"

Kurogane averted his attention to that voice and almost instantly groaned inwardly. On each one of that person's arms was a teenager with brown hair. One was a girl with bright emerald eyes and a cheerful expression and the other was a boy with steadfast eyes but a warm smile. Fai immediately launched himself at the ninja, dropping the children behind. Kurogane felt the warm body squeeze against him and all too soon that warmth was gone. The said blond had ran over to the kids again. "This is Sakura-Chan," he demonstrated by patting the girl's shoulder, "-and this would be Syaoran-Kun. Sakura-Chan used to be a big fan of mine and Syaoran-Kun knows her from the real world."

The ninja nodded, unknown feelings presenting themself within the ninja. Something felt like it was constricting inside of his chest... Fai said nothing about bringing extra baggage so he should be thanked that he was at least he was acknowledging their existence.

"Hello, Kurogane-Sama!" the girl exclaimed, running up to the man and grabbing his hands. "I'm Sakura-Chan; we met yesterday in Fai-San's personal server space. I didn't know you were **the** Kurogane! Like, I thought maybe you were just just some poseur but now that I think about it, it's perfect since Fai's really well known, too. My personal username is _xxkisskisskissxx_ but the one I told you was _xhikarix_. Maybe you remember me from the chat-room...? It doesn't matter. I'm really different than that, though, just so you know! I just don't want to be associated with, 'them,' so I use a non-standard avatar for default. Anyhow, I'm a big fan of yours, too! I've only heard about you from threads; it's like a dream meeting you!"

Kurogane didn't even understand that, she was talking so fast. And he had met two boys - twins, it seemed - in Fai's personal space... Oh yeah. The incest twins... Come to think of it, he remembered the boy's avatar.

Fai chuckled, and patted her on the back. "Calm down or he won't understand you, Sakura-Chan!" His shining blue eyes cast Kurogane a _look_. "You need to use small words with him," he explained, showing about an inch between his thumb and index fingers.

"Fuck up!" Kurogane unsheathed his sword and began chasing after Fai.

"Don't use such foul language, Kuro-Pi - Sakura-Chan and Syaoran-Kun are only sixteen in the real world!"

"I told you to stop fucking calling me that!"

Syaoran smiled weakly and patted his female companion's shoulder. "I think we should start getting the table and leave Fai and Kurogane-San to their frolicking."

Kurogane was distracted by the utterance of, '-San,' added to his name. True, Fai had taken it a step further calling him these damned names but Fai was Fai and there was nothing he could do about that. Other people were bound to the corrected honorifics he deemed proper for himself. "Who said you could call me, '-San,' you little shit?" Syaoran gulped as the man stomped over to where he was with a pissed-off expression. "You think you can call me that just because you've met me? And what the fuck do you mean, '**frolicking**?'"

Before the boy could run away screaming, 'Mommy!' or shield himself by throwing Sakura between them or even wet his pants, Fai had jumped from behind and pulled Kurogane away.

"Kuro-Chan, Kuro-Chan, Kuro-Chan... What am I going to _do_ with you? That's such a bad puppy!"

Kurogane's eyes widened. "Enough with the fucking names, enough with fucking things like **that**!"

Fai smacked a hand over Kurogane's mouth with a smile. "What did I say about the swearing...?"

Scarlet eyes rolled over. Seriously. He wasn't a kid like Ness. He was a full-grown man and if he had a baseball-bat in his hands right now, it might be used to dispose of a few lives rather than saving the world.

"Umm, before we have lunch, I need to go to the restroom," Sakura announced, pointing to the wash-rooms.

Syaoran nodded as he asked the hostess for their party's seating. "I'll go with you!" Fai exclaimed, hugging the girl and practically leaning over her the whole way. Kurogane would have said something or gave her the dirtiest glare he could muster but neither of the two were looking his way.

"Umm...Kurogane-'Sama'...?"

Kurogane glared at the weak-voice. He smirked in satisfaction just because he liked the feeling of superiority. The ninja followed the timid boy to a rectangle table with booth-like seats for two placed on either side. There was a lamp-post just outside the small fence that separated it from the busy forum-streets on the right and a fountain to the left. It was sunny outside with a cool breeze so Kurogane didn't have to complain about sitting on the patio. To say the least, it was acceptable for date-conditions. Kurogane sat down at one end of the square as Syaoran seated across from him with a nod. It was unspoken which person would be sitting next to who.

The two males sat in silence, not touching, talking, or even looking at each other.

"...**You**. What's your username?"

Syaoran's amber eyes glanced up and he flustered up considerably. "Oh, mine? We-Well...it's kind of a long story-"

"Just tell me," Kurogane seethed.

"_LittlePuppySama2point0_," he answered obidiently, nodding meekly with a blush.

Kurogane's eyebrow twitched. "**Little-Puppy-Sama-Two-Point-Oh**." He even stressed each syllable in case his ears truly were playing tricks on him. Syaoran nodded again like maybe he didn't know it was against the law to have a username like that. "What kind of name is **that**?! Are you gay or what? Did someone force you into that name or are you just like Lucius?"

"Lucius from the Fire Emblem on the GameBoy Advanced, Kurogane-San?" He paused, realizing he had addressed Kurogane with, '-San,' again. He held his arms up in case Kurogane decided he wanted to hit him with bunched up brows. "Lucius wasn't gay, Kurogane-Sama!" he pleaded.

Kurogane gave him a look that told him he believed that as much as he believed there was nothing between Ninian and Eliwood. Florina and Lyn not being considered a canon pairing was more believable than Lucius not being gay. A threesome with Lyn, Florina, and Hector because Lyn and Florina were obviously canon and Hector had a thing for Lyn even though she was into other girls was more believable than Lucius not being gay. Nils being a pimp was more believable than Lucius not being gay! Come to think of it, Fai had more in common with Lucius than just the flowing, golden locks... "**Gay**."

"If you don't mind me asking, aren't you and Fai-San gay-?"

"**I'm** the one asking questions. Just tell me what the Hell gave you an idea to choose a name like **that**."

"Well... Sakura and I have been friends for a very long time. My parents are in the military and when they transfered to Italy when I was only in junior high, I was really concerned. Italy was strange and I didn't know anybody - I was scared just to go out to the parks! ...Sakura-Chan was the first person to be nice to me and...and I guess I fell in love with her." Kurogane blinked dully. Syaoran blushed and scratched his head. "If not for her, I would have never started The World. In order to play The World you need an e-mail address and I didn't have one. I remember it just like yesterday..."

**O**

_This was the first time he had seen his best friend's apartment. She hadn't shown him her room yet, but such thoughts were the farthest thing from Syaoran's innocent mind. He was content sitting on the couch, watching movies, sipping hot chocolate, and talking with her. "Sakura-Chan, what's your favorite animal...?"_

_The girl's smile brightened up immediately, warming the boy's heart as well as his cheeks. "Dogs, of course! They're so fuzzy and playful - I just love them all! In fact, when I grow up I'm going to be a veterinarian!"_

_Syaoran nodded with a kind smile at the girl's enthusiasm. "What kind of dogs?"_

_"All dogs. I want to help all the doggies of the world!" She rose from her seat and spread her arms wide like she might be hugging someone. "I will save all the puppies and doggies and help them all!"_

**O**

"-I honestly didn't know what to do. I wanted to choose something that would remind her of something that she likes," Syaoran confessed. He smiled sheepishly.

Kurogane, on the other hand, felt like gagging his insides out. That was the most stupid thing he'd ever heard.

"Oh but that's not it, Kurogane-Sama!" the boy interjected as if the best part of the story hadn't been told yet. "We knew Fai in the real world before we found him in The World."

Now **that** was something Kurogane was interested in. "He lives in Italy, too?"

"Oh, no. He lives in Ukraine."

"How'd he get win the Delta Server sweepstakes, then? That was an American promotion." Fai didn't _look_ Ukrainian, either. He looked more Scandinavian...like a Finland. In whatever case, as long as Fai looked like Fai it didn't really matter to him.

Syaoran shrugged and slumped backwards in his seat. "Your guess is as good as mine. I know that person close to him lives in Maine but I don't know anything else. He leaked it when I asked him what I should do about my username. I couldn't think of anything and I was stressing out. I'm not a dog-expert and I didn't know that he was completely wasted until _after_ I created my account. He said: 'Somthin' lik lil' pup'-Sama version 2.0 would fit you fine!' so I went with that."

It was funny because before Kurogane could rant on about how this story completely blew the other away in the fucking stupid category, Fai and Sakura returned. What was even more disturbing was that the first words out of Sakura's mouth were: "I just love your username, Syaoran-Kun!" as she smiled brightly. Kurogane had the distinct feeling he should be tuning them out about now. It was better to move on while ahead before they began talking about how puppies were made. He mentally slapped himself for thinking that.

"So, what did you do today in your real life, Kuro-Sama?" Fai asked interested, awaking the ninja from his zombie-like state. Said ninja had been zoning the kids' conversation out the whole time and now he was a little confused as to what was going on. He would have felt bad for it if he didn't have any better things to do than to whatever the Hell it was they were talking about. He had things that were worth thinking about...like if he was going to choose Zelos or Kratos next time he played Tales of Symphonia...or how Fai's ass moved when he walked.

But this was good. Fai had an _idea_ of how much a gamer he was, but the other two didn't. Moreover, Fai didn't know just how many skills he had up his sleeve. As long as he stayed to the subject and didn't let anything like this hobby of his slip out, he could keep his dignity.

"I was on my way to work when a Pikachu attacked me." Shit. Just a sentence in and he had screwed up. Open mouth, insert foot! Damn Riotz for giving him a lift and saying it was okay to play the latest Nintendo hand-held as he drove. Damn him! Now that he had just announced he was one of those pathetic people who played and bought the virus that is Pokémon yet try not to admit it, he had no other choice but to continue: "My Houndoom saved me, though. It has all my favorite things: fire, darkness, and cool."

There was a moment of silence. It was thick and heavy and loomed over the table considerably. Syaoran was the first to speak:

"_Flippin' **sweet**_, man! I totally get you!" he exclaimed, pounding his fists on the table.

Sakura's emerald eyes gleamed like little stars. "Houndooms are so cute! I prefer Arcainine, but I have a Doberman Pincher of my own at home that looks just like one! I even gave it this cute little headgear when I cosplay with him!" She began waving her hands in motions to express the dog-cosplay outfit. "I dressed as from the Elite Four once and had him beside me. It was so cute!"

Kurogane nodded, feeling, for the first time, accepted in this obsession of his. He felt that maybe he really wasn't the only one out there with an abnormally large collection of video-games. He leaned over on his elbows and nodded. "I have chow named, 'Noishe.'"

Sakura smiled and laughed. "Like Noishe from Tales of Symphonia? I **love** that game!"

"Noishe wasn't quite completely a dog, Sakura..." Syaoran commented. The girl began to protest that statement and brought up all the reasons that statement wasn't too. The ninja knew this was his time to be tuning out again.

Kurogane glanced over to Fai just to check on him, he had been quiet for the first time since Kurogane met him making things a little awkward. The vampire smiled back and leaned over, his head resting on Kurogane's shoulders. He didn't know if it was right or wrong. The ninja had only been in a few relationships - none of which lasted very long. He took a chance and wrapped his arms over his...date's shoulders. He could be wrong, but something told him that the hand running over his thigh under the table was worth it.

**O**

"That was nice," Fai commented. They had long last finished lunch. From there Sakura and Syaoran had a chat-room to go to. Fai had already canceled all his meetings since this was his, 'date,' with Kurogane. They wandered about the plaza aimlessly. Kurogane had bought a few things for Fai - not anything meaningful, but nothing overly sappy, either. They were small things: chocolate, a stuffed animal Fai liked in the window, and crap like that.

"I don't care but...this was supposed to be a date, moron," Kurogane grumbled with a blush, finding Fai's hand and holding it firm.

Fai laughed airily as he leaned his head against Kurogane's shoulder. "A date is just a day, Kuro-Chichi. Tomorrow I have a date, too."

The ninja squeezed Fai's hand. "That's not what I meant."

The vampire sighed heavily like this was now becoming complicated business. "Well, I guess I owe Kuro-Sama a date, then."

"Three days from now. Let's go to the Omega-Alpha area and just mess around. There are supposed to be really high-leveled monsters there."

Fai grinned. That sounded just like Kurogane - a situation that would impress Fai with his skills in a locked area only the best could get into. "Sounds good," he whispered. He leaned over on his tip-toes to place a gentle, if not chaste, kiss on Kurogane's cheek. It was simple and sweet and Fai might have lingered there a little too long.

Kurogane felt his cheeks go hot under the light moisture, making him suddenly very uncomfortable. He should be the one kissing Fai, not the other way around. He was supposed to be the **man** in this relationship, right? With one hand he pushed Fai away. "Don't...do that."

"Aww! But I wanna kiss Kuro-Tan and he's too shy to-"

The ninja knew what was coming up. '_But I wanna kiss Kuro-Tan and he's too shy to kiss me himself_!' That's why he grabbed Fai's hood and pulled it towards his mouth. He was going to kiss Fai so that the vampire never doubted him again. He was going to made sure this kiss was the best damned thing that had ever happened to Fai. This kiss would last until Fai started whimpering that it was too much for his body to handle.

The blond had began whimpering as Kurogane had foreseen, not because it was too much but because it wasn't enough. Even Kurogane could agree with that. Fai opened his mouth completely, allowing Kurogane's tongue to delve inside and explore his mouth, and grabbed Kurogane as he leaned their bodies against a wall. The ninja's hands were roaming all around Fai but the vampire couldn't care less. His fingers were in raven strands of hair - pulling and twisting and tangling and it felt so _good_! The taller male pulled off for breath, occupying his mate by licking down his jawline as he breathed the man's scent in. Fai was rubbing up against Kurogane and the ninja was beginning to think that anything feeling so good should be criminal.

After the kiss had resumed and broke off again, Kurogane and Fai were pressed against each other and their foreheads were resting comfortably on each other's. Kurogane's chapped lips were brushing over Fai's skin and the wizard's mouth was just parted so. Kurogane would have liked to look at the other man's eyes but his thick bangs were shielding those beautiful sapphires.

To the ninja's dismay, the vampire had shoved him off. Fai bit his bottom lip. His body was still close to Kurogane's, but it felt like it was too far away. "Hey, I was just...I mean," he stammered, twirling a finger through his fine hair nervously, "The World has been more fun than reality lately. My life is actually really boring so...I was just going to go to my place here and watch a movie. Better movies play here than the real world, too!"

Scarlet eyes blinked darkly at the blond, his cheeks bright like cherries. "...So you want me to go to your house?"

Fai, with much hesitation, nodded with a little smile. "Company is always nice," he cooed. They were already close but the air had become much hotter. Fai began whispering so low even Kurogane couldn't hear. The only part the ninja could make out was: "There's a bed there." Even that was a long-shot guess, but with Fai's fingers dancing on - just barely brushing over - his crotch, he was more than convinced.

"Let's go," the ninja agreed.

**O**

Fai had acted embarrassed enough asking Kurogane to come over to his house, but once they were in the elevator of the complex, it was like the blond had become an invincible warrior of sex. His legs were wrapped around Kurogane's hips tightly and was practically groping Kurogane's ass. Needless to say, the couple had a hard time working their way to Fai's apartment. The ninja was carrying him, kissing his neck and looking in the pale man's direction when he pointed to his apartment's door.

"Key..." the smaller man choked out in a constricted voice. He slipped Kurogane the key though the ninja has some difficulties focusing on turning the key while there was a beautiful, horny man who also happened to be the best kisser he'd ever met right in front of him. By the time the door clicked open, they were leaning on it so much, they slipped through entirely. Fai groaned as they tumbled onto the floor, Kurogane's was weight pushing on him; he could feel Kurogane and the man wasn't even _inside_ of him yet. He was beginning to become impatient as his vision blurred out and his head began to feel light. "Door... close it... Kuro, Kuro-Wa-"

"Nn." The ninja had only lifted off to slam the door shut before sprawling himself stop of the mage. There wasn't enough room, their knees bent and kept shoving against the closed door whenever either moved. The floor was hard and cold which only made the soft, warm body each man was grasping onto feel even better. "So damn... _Fuck_."

Fai laughed, just barely. It sounded more of a strained moan than anything else. He was sweating already. It felt like they had done so much touching and kissing and holding and whispering but they hadn't even pulled off either of their coats. The blond tugged off all Kurogane's easy garments as the ninja bucked his hips into Fai's. Fai was groaning loudly, he could feel each passing moment constricting within his chest. The air was too hot to inhale. He couldn't possibly be breathing...

The ninja had slipped one of his hands under all of Fai's clothing. It was running up his chest, pinching the nipples playfully. Fai threw his head back with a scream. The ninja wasn't touching him, wasn't fucking him, wasn't _doing_ anything that should arouse him like this...

"I...I have something...for the first...the first...time..." Kurogane couldn't understand the scrambled words correctly, but he was more interested in feeling Fai's skin than hearing what the blond had to say in protest. "Let me get it-"

"Doesn't matter," Kurogane hissed, nipping at Fai's earlobe. The blond, arched over in Kurogane's embrace, was dangling in his lover's arms helplessly. A line of consecutive kisses trailed over Fai's jawline. "It doesn't...ungh...matter...if you - aa - mean it... Mean it...that's all..."

Fai groaned under the hot words. He was ready, hot and horny, wanting Kurogane to fuck him right now, but he felt like the first time should be magical. He wanted to make this magical - for Kurogane, at any cost. Kurogane was _looking_ at him now. Looking to make sure Fai meant it; that he wanted this, need it as much as he did. "Mean it," he choked, "I mean it..." He smiled weakly as Kurogane began unbuckling his pants. It already felt magical enough for him.

**O**

They had just screwed so loudly, Fai was afraid their moaning was echoing through the Vrtzitz Mountains, and on the floor, no less. His hair was a mess. He and Kurogane were still slicked in sweat and their breathing was just barely getting under control. That had to be the best screw of his lifetime and with a novice at that. Fai could tell by the ninja's actions that he wasn't very familiar with this, but that made him feel a little bit more special. The wizard smiled in a content manner and cuddled up against Kurogane's chest. 'His,' ninja was leaned against the very door that had caused them much difficulty earlier. As much as the vampire would have bet against it, Kurogane was quite affectionate after his body was content.

"You like?" Fai joked. The ninja may not have responded directly, but he kissed the pale neck beneath him like it might be last time he could kiss it. The magician writhed under the feel and patted his lover's naked thigh. A sea of clothes surrounded them though Kurogane had pulled his cape over them both. "Mm. This was nice."

"_Nice_...?" Kurogane echoed.

Fai grinned. "Okay. Maybe a little better than nice."

Kurogane smirked and kissed the male's neck again. His fingertips were stroking the tops of Fai's thighs gently. "Damn right."

The blond male sighed as he ran his head through Kurogane's hair. "You're so pretty..."

The ninja grunted at that, nuzzling the soft mess of hair againt his cheek. "Pretty?" He was beginning to see that he was confronting a lot of, 'first times,' without actually being the first time these situations had happened. He just never cared much to deal with them - 'pretty,' being the most recent. "That sounds so fucking-"

"If you say, 'gay,' I can promise this'll be the last time I let you screw me on my floor." Actually, he couldn't promise that in any situation, but Kurogane was induced on a cuddle-high and thus could not protest. He could tell he on the battle by the ninja's pouting so he took the time to grin at his accomplishment.

For the next few minutes, Kurogane was shifting behind him, running his hands over Fai's skin any way he could. It was only afterwards that he forgot to mention one, tiny, _little_ thing that might make the ninja's day... "Oh, yeah. I just remembered," Fai murmured lazily, nuzzling his cheek against Kurogane's neck. It was best to bring up situations like these indirectly. "We can't go on that date in three days."

The ninja stopped cuddling immediately. His eyes jolted open but the rest of his moment tensed up like a rock. "...Why the fuck not? You **said** you owed me a-"

"Mmm," Fai sighed. He tapped a finger over the ninja's mouth and held it there. "Because you and I have a tournament to win in three days."

"The competition in Talabithithiz Square?" Scarlet eyes blinked dumbly as Fai's messy mop of golden hair nodded up and down. "That already ended. It was last night and I didn't stick around for it."

"That was only registration. The date is still tentative but set for the next seventy-eight hours," the vampire explained with a chime, "You should be recieving a confirmation e-mail in about twelve hours. Hope you don't mind that I forged your e-mail?" Kurogane didn't move. He didn't even blink. Fai laughed uneasily. The look Kurogane had said that he completely and utterly didn't get that - and what little that he did, he didn't believe. "I had to bribe the admin a little, but it wasn't anything indecent, baby!"

Kurogane **did** move then because there was something more at stake than just the lust of fighting...even if he didn't realize that yet. "**What**? 'Bribed?'" He grabbed Fai's slender shoulders and began shaking the other male. Damn vampire was just going to come out **now** and admit that he'd been having unhealthy relations while knowing Kurogane?! "Bribed how? With what? For how long?"

"It... It was just a favor!" the mage choked out with wide eyes. "She wanted one of my pies. We actually know each other in the real world and likes my cooking..."

"Oh." The ninja nodded with relief now. He relaxed and eventually the mage he was cradling in his arms leaned up against him again. "That's...good."

"Mmm," Fai conceded with a nod. He inhaled his newfound-lover's scent and sighed. "It's going to be a fun date."

Kurogane didn't say anything. He shoved Fai off and straddled the smaller male's hips again. The blond whimpered, probably wondering if he should be protesting, enjoying, or wondering what had gotten into Kurogane. The ninja couldn't help it. Fai had some really sexy moments. Kurogane would make him into a great gamer yet. He leaned over the vampire's lithe body predatorily, with a dark smirk, sucking on the soft spot behind Fai's ear. "You might want to save," he suggested huskily.

**LOG-OUT ACCEPTED. NEXT LOG-IN REQUESTED.**

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Afterthoughts: I'm sorry I didn't reply to all your lovely reviews last chapter. I died somewhere withing the process... But seriously, receiving all those comments and as much feedback as I did on one chapter makes me so happy! I'll make sure to respond to the reviews this time. Chapter three is finally in the works. It's taking awhile since the Elite Beat Agents are trying to crack it up. 


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